Free Visual Novel Design Engine Released

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Sunday July 23, 2006 @01:37PM from the for-all-your-dating-sim-needs dept.

Ayaka Hahn writes to tell us that they have just released a free game construction kit designed to make Visual Novels easy to construct. The "Blade Engine" was based on a professional Visual Novel engine being used in Japan with the hopes that it would spark greater interest in this medium in the west. From the press release: "In the West, there is a stereotype of: "Visual Novel = Dating Sim Game = Hentai", but that is wrong. Visual Novels CAN be Dating Sim games, Ren'ai games, Bishoujo games but also can be Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adventure and Horror Fiction games, or anything that the user's creativity comes up with."

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In the West... by stubear · 2006-07-23 14:52 · Score: 0, Troll

...we call these "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels and I read many when I was a kid. I outgrew them, apparently the Japanese haven't. I guess it's cool, though, because it's Japanese?!? Whatever.
1. Re:In the West... by stubear · 2006-07-24 00:07 · Score: 0, Troll
  
  You know, this was the first thing I thought when I read this story. I never got the Japanese RPGs with their ridiculous plots (and no, they are not that complex, only convoluted and mind-boggingly stupid) and the lack of any real game play mechanics. These novels take the Japanese RPG and rip whatever soul was left right out of it.